The steelmaker said Tuesday it has established a roadmap to directly employ subcontractor workers who support production operations at its Pohang and Gwangyang steel plants. The hiring will be carried out in phases.
POSCO has traditionally operated under a subcontracting system as steel production requires 24-hour facility operation and involves significant variations in job functions. Under this structure, in-house employees and subcontractor workers have worked side by side on-site.
However, the company has now decided to directly hire subcontractor workers engaged in support tasks closely related to production, representing a major shift in its labor structure.
The move is also expected to resolve long-standing legal disputes over employment status that have persisted since 2011, as subcontracted workers filed lawsuits seeking recognition as POSCO employees. The company said the decision effectively brings an end to nearly 15 years of conflict.
POSCO plans to conduct formal recruitment procedures for subcontractor workers who wish to join the company.
The decision reflects the company’s intention to eliminate what is often referred to as the “outsourcing of risk” and fundamentally strengthen workplace safety management.
A POSCO official said the direct hiring initiative would help innovate safety systems at industrial sites and strengthen future competitiveness in the steel industry based on a cooperative labor-management model.
Industry sources said the decision was strongly driven by POSCO Group Chairman Jang In-hwa, who indicated the company would clarify its direction to avoid prolonged legal disputes.
Representatives of subcontractor workers welcomed the decision, saying it would help ease internal conflicts caused by long-running lawsuits. They added that they would contribute to building a safer workplace as part of POSCO.
The large-scale integration between POSCO and its subcontractors is being viewed as a new model for labor-management cooperation in the industrial sector, as well as an attempt to overcome challenges facing the steel industry through mutual growth.
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